Town troubles spelt in black and white

By David Braithwaite

January 6, 2007 — 11.00am

GRIFFITH'S residents are bush people, and no strangers to a bit of a blue, but the bashing meted out to Andrew Farrugia was another dimension of violence.

"Blunt force trauma" is what police called it in court - hemorrhage caused by the smashing of skull upon skull, then a fist repeatedly swung into the head. Seconds later, the 17-year-old collapsed, and with him Griffith's patience with violent crime.

The anger is still manifest in Banna Avenue, Griffith's main street, where Andrew died after an attack early on New Year's Day, allegedly by two 15-year-old boys. Rumours of revenge attacks and text messages calling for retribution swirl about the town.

Advertisement

The teenagers have been charged with murdering Andrew and were refused bail in Wagga Wagga Children's Court on Wednesday. Police allege Andrew was headbutted twice by one of the boys, then king-hit at least twice from behind by the other, mortally wounding him.

The death has shocked the affluent, cosmopolitan Riverina city of 25,000 people, and exposed racial tensions.

Threatening phone calls have reportedly been made to Aboriginal families, and police have issued an official warning against text messages inciting racial violence.

The hatred grieves June Murray, a Wiradjuri elder who has called for the entire town to attend a meeting.

"They say there's been a lot of problems brewing around the town with a minority group playing up. I wondered why there wasn't more done by the police, but the paper says they're low on numbers. This is a terrible tragedy and there's a lot of decent Aboriginal people in this town that are saddened and would never condone it.

"They're all decent people who know where their kids are at night. To say we're all bad is just going too far."

Inspector Tony Reneker of Griffith police said the town's Aborigines were generally peaceful and had helped in the investigation. He said juveniles accounted for 13 per cent of the 371 assaults in the city last year.

"We have problems with kids that come from broken homes, who are unemployed, bored and engaged in alcohol and drug abuse," he said.

"It's a small group all the time that paints a bad picture for the rest of the community group.

"We are calling for calm in the town. We want the judicial process to run its course and we don't want vigilante groups. This is a good town to work in normally. [Andrew's death] was an isolated incident, and the police here are devastated by it."

It was the nature of the attack that shocked the town, but it came as no surprise to some residents. Sam, a close friend of Andrew who is helping to organise a plaque and benefit concert in his honour, said local youths had learnt to watch themselves.

"You've usually got that feeling in the back of your head because there's fights every weekend, without a doubt," he said.

"They just roam the streets looking for a fight. They only go for people on their own or in smaller groups because they're always in big groups.

"There's a fair bit of animosity between everybody now."

Peter Knox, 65, a long-time Griffith resident, said the violence nature of Andrew's death had shaken the town.

"I think it's a bit of anger and shock that this has happened to a young kid," he said.

"We're a rough, tough sort of a family, all ex-boxers, but all this kicking and headbutting - it's not our way."

In Rankins Springs, Andrew's home town 60 kilometres from Griffith, a neighbour, William O'Reilly, said something had to be done. "It happens all the time. There's always somebody getting a bit of a touch-up in there at night, especially Fridays and Saturdays.

"You're crazy if you walk in there at night. It doesn't matter if you can hold your own - if you're up against 15 or 20 blokes you've got no chance. You're probably safer walking around Sydney than Griffith these days."

After just four months as Mayor of Griffith, Dino Zappacosta found himself leading a town feeling betrayed by authorities and on the edge of taking action itself.

"We are a community of 60 different nationalities, and in any city that is going to create a lot of challenges - challenges in respecting each others' cultures and being tolerant.

"But we don't have any problems with Aboriginal people in general. The issue is more the young and the anti-social behaviour of their young ones."

Despite the hurt and turmoil of the past week, the willingness of Andrew's friends to work towards healing the town has given locals hope.

"We've been putting forward ideas, like better lighting and moving the taxi stand to the safer side of the street," said Sam. "We're also going to organise a benefit concert for Andrew and erect a memorial plaque in his honour. We want to prevent this ever happening again."

- Police released an 18-year-old Bass Hill man after questioning him at Bankstown Police Station in connection with the death. He was released "pending further inquiries", a police statement said yesterday.